New cast option comes to Google Chrome, can mirror to Hangouts

Google Chrome users how have new a new cast option in the latest stable release of the web browser. In order to cast from Chrome, users were required to use a Google Cast extension from the Chrome Web Store. Now, users who have Chrome 51 or higher installed will find a new “Cast” option listed in the drop-down menu.

Chrome now has new cast options built in.

The cast option operates the same way the extension does in that it will allow you to cast your current browser tab onto any Cast-enabled device. The extension will still work, mind you, but now you won’t have to have it installed for those intermittent castings. Gone are the options regarding streaming rate, and screen resolution. Instead, Google just does the streaming for you. The new casting option will also be present in Chrome OS.

While there have been some that have called for Google’s Hangout messaging service to fade into the sunset, Google is still adding features to the service. Hangouts also has the ability to receive casts. It was first spotted as a beta feature and it appears to have graduated to a stable release. According to the support page, Hangouts will receive cloud service casts, however, the specific cloud services that are castable haven’t been, well, specified.

While the new cast option is available in Chrome 51, some users are reporting it not being available for them. This suggests that Google is rolling the feature out slowly, as it does with everything else. The Hangouts cast option is spotty in Chrome 51, too, though it is listed as a Chrome 52 feature. As Chrome 51 just hit a stable release a few short weeks ago, we’re still a few weeks out for Chrome 52 to hit stable status.

Do you cast a lot of browser windows from Chrome? If so, are you excited to see the feature become a part of the browser itself? Let us know on social media or in the comments section below.

About Techaeris

Techaeris was founded in 2013 by Alex Hernandez and covers a spectrum of information related to technology, gaming, entertainment, science, art, photography and life. The mission of Techaeris is to offer honest reporting, unique stories, news coverage, product information and reviews, as well as social interaction with our readers. We strive to remain objective and open minded about technology and label opinion pieces as such. We’re glad you’ve decided to stop by and have a read. We hope you stay, invite some friends, and come back again and again!